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News Release

VOLLEYBALL NEWS AND NOTES:

9/6/2005

Stacey Carroll's 59 assists against Cal Poly ranked as the single-match high at the George Mason Invitational last weekend.

Baltimore, Md. – The UMBC volleyball team went 1-2 last weekend at the George Mason Invitational and are currently 1-4 on the season.  News and Notes this week takes a look at the week ahead, Sarah Ball earning America East Rookie of the Week honors and a wrap of last weekends action.

LOOKING AHEAD                                     

This Week:

9/6   UMBC at Delaware, 7:00 p.m.

9/10   UMBC vs. St. Peter’s (UMBC Tri-Match), 10:00 a.m.

9/10   UMBC vs. LaSalle (UMBC Tri-Match), 3:00 p.m.

UMBC Travels To Delaware

The Retrievers take on their second opponent in the Colonial Athletic Conference as they travel to Delaware in a non-conference battle on Tuesday night.  The game can be viewed using the live stats link off the Retrievers website (www.umbcretrievers.com).  UMBC and Delaware first met in 1979 as the Blue Hens have a 19-6 series advantage over UMBC.  The last time the two teams played each other was in 2001 as UMBC won that match, 3-2.  Delaware was selected to finish second in the preseason conference poll for the CAA. 

St. Peter’s and LaSalle Make Trek For Tri-Match at UMBC

The Retrievers will welcome St. Peter’s and LaSalle to RAC Arena this weekend as the three teams will compete in a tri-match.  UMBC and St. Peter’s will open the day at 10:00 a.m. followed by St. Peter’s and LaSalle at 12:30 p.m. and UMBC and LaSalle wrapping up the day at 3:00 p.m.  The Retrievers last saw St. Peter’s at the Delaware Tournament in 2001, as UMBC fell in that match, 3-1.  UMBC met LaSalle that same year in the LaSalle home tournament as the Retrievers won that match, 3-1.         

WEEKLY WRAP

UMBC Goes 1-2 at George Mason Patriot Invitational

UMBC went 1-2 at the George Mason Patriot Invitational last weekend, defeating Loyola (Md.) 3-1 while falling to invitational champion Cal Poly, 3-2, and Texas Christian U., 3-1. 

UMBC 3, Loyola (Md.) 1 (30-27, 30-23, 25-30, 30-16)

The UMBC volleyball team handed head coach Ian Blanchard his first win as a collegiate head coach as the Retrievers cruised to a 3-1 (30-27, 30-23, 25-30, 30-16) win over Loyola (Md.) in the opening round of the George Mason Invitational.  Freshman Sarah Ball notched 19 kills and 17 digs for a double-double, her third in as many games for UMBC.  Ball hit .319 (19 kills, 4 errors, 47 attacks) for the match and .875 in game two, scoring seven kills on eight attacks to fuel the Retrievers offense that hit .299 as a team with 65 kills.  Stacey Carroll dished out 54 assists with Katrina Carrick recording 13 kills and Ashley Hargrove scoring nine kills.  Christine Skala added 17 digs as well.

Cal Poly 3, UMBC 2 (30-24, 18-30, 30-28, 24-30, 15-11)

The UMBC women’s volleyball team took eventual tournament champion Cal Poly to the limit but fell 3-2, (30-24, 18-30, 30-28, 24-30, 15-11) at the George Mason Invitational.  Sarah Ball racked up a game-high 24 kills with 14 digs for her fourth double-double on the season.  Christine Skala led the UMBC defense as the senior libero tallied 20 digs in the match allowing teammate Stacey Carroll to dish out a career-high 59 assists.  Carroll recorded 11 digs against Cal Poly for a double-double.  Angela Anderson finished with 19 kills, hitting .421 in the five-set match.  Anderson in 38 attacks committed just three errors to go with her 19 kills.  UMBC out hit Cal Poly in the match, finishing with a .299 hitting percentage and 70 kills compared to Cal Poly’s .228 hitting percentage. 

TCU 3, UMBC 1 (32-34, 30-25, 30-14, 30-25)

The UMBC volleyball team fell to Texas Christian University (TCU) by a final of 3-1 (32-34, 30-25, 30-14, 30-25) to conclude their portion of the George Mason Invitational.  UMBC finished the tournament 1-2 with Sarah Ball and Stacey Carroll recording double-doubles in all three matches.  Ball with 17 kills and 11 digs against TCU recorded her fifth double-double on the year.  Ball recorded a .224 hitting percentage in the match with three blocks and two service aces.  Carroll tallied 35 assists and 10 digs for UMBC.  The Retrievers recorded a team .166 hitting percentage with 46 kills.  Christine Skala tallied 10 digs for the Retrievers as well.  TCU was led by Anna Vaughn with 23 kills in the match as the Horned Frogs hit .322 as a team with 75 kills.

DAWG BITES

Retrievers Double-Doubles Continue To Add Up

UMBC continued to see players shine in its opening weeks of action as the Retrievers produce six double-doubles at the George Mason Patriot Invitational.  Sarah Ball and Stacey Carroll each tallied a double-double in all three matches at the invitational.  Ball now has five double-doubles on the year, one in each of the Retrievers games to date this season. 

2005 Double-Doubles

Name                                           Total 1         Total 2                                       Opponent

Stacey Carroll                             35 Assists  10 Digs                                      vs. TCU (9-3-05)

Sarah Ball                                   17 Kills        11 Digs                                      vs. TCU (9-3-05)

Stacey Carroll                             59 Assists  11 Digs                                      vs. Cal Poly (9-2-05)

Sarah Ball                                   24 Kills        14 Digs                                      vs. Cal Polyl (9-2-05)

Stacey Carroll                             55 Assists  10 Digs                                      vs. Loyola (Md.) (9-2-05)

Sarah Ball                                   19 Kills        17 Digs                                      vs. Loyola (Md.) (9-2-05)

Sarah Ball                                   14 Kills        11 Digs                                      vs. Villanova (8-27-05)

Megan Gross                              44 Assists  15 Digs                                      vs. Northeastern (8-27-05)

Jessie Folk                                 15 Kills        13 Digs                                      vs. Northeastern (8-27-05)

Sarah Ball                                   11 Kills        16 Digs                                      vs. Northeastern (8-27-05)

Ball Earns America East Rookie of the Week Honors, Named to George Mason All-Tournament Team

UMBC freshman Sarah Ball earned America East Rookie of the Week honors and was named to the George Mason Invitational All-Tournament team last week.  Ball recorded 4.62 kpg and 3.23 digs per game (dpg) in the three matches at the invitational.  Ball recorded three double-doubles in the tournament and has a double-double in all five matches on the season for the Retrievers.  Ball is hitting .230 with a 3.86 kpg average and is recording 3.14 dpg. The rookie also has eight service aces, 13 total blocks and six assists to start the season.

Carroll Emerges With Big Weekend At George Mason Invitational

Retriever sophomore Stacey Carroll has recorded a stellar weekend at the George Mason Invitational, recording 11.46 assists per game and 149 total assists in three matches.  Carroll recorded 59 assists Cal Poly to set the tournament mark for most assists in a single match.  Carroll also tied the mark for most service aces with five against Loyola (Md.). 

Retrievers In America East Charts

A number of Retrievers early on are listed among the America East Conference chart leaders.  Katrina Carrick ranks second in hitting percentage at .368, Stacey Carroll second in assists at 11.50 per game and Sarah Ball third in kills with 3.86 per game and points at 4.57 per game. 

America East Charts (as of games thru 9-5-05)

Hitting Percentage

        Name                             Mark

2.     Katrina Carrick             .368

4.     Ashley Hargrove          .319

10.  Angela Anderson         .265

Kills (per game)

        Name                             Mark

3.     Sarah Ball                     3.86

10.  Angela Anderson         3.00

Assists (per game)

        Name                             Mark

2.     Stacey Carroll               11.50

Service Aces (per game)

        Name                             Mark

5.     Christine Skala            0.55

Blocks (per game)

        Name                             Mark

4.     Katrina Carrick             0.95

4.     Ashley Hargrove          0.95

Digs (per game)

Name                                     Mark

4.     Christine Skala            3.77

6.     Sarah Ball                     3.14

Points (per game)

Name                                     Mark

3.     Sarah Ball                     4.57

Fresh Faces Impressive In Debut

UMBC has welcomed some fresh faces to the court that have been impressive to start the season.  Freshmen Sarah Ball has five double-doubles and recorded the most kills by any player in a match at the George Mason Invitational with 24 against eventual tournament champion, Cal Poly.  Ashley Hargrove is tied with teammate Katrina Carrick with 21 kills through five matches and redshirt freshman Angela Anderson, who is returning from a knee injury that forced her out of last year, recorded 19 kills against Cal Poly with a  .421 hitting percentage.  Anderson in 38 attacks committed just three errors.

Retrievers To Test CAA Early On

The Retrievers have an early road filled with strong regional programs in the upcoming weeks.  UMBC early on will face three of the top-four picks in the Colonial Athletic Association preseason poll.  The Retrievers last weekend took on former America East opponent and now CAA member Northeastern, taking the No. 3 ranking in the conference preseason poll.  UMBC is at Delaware on Sept. 6, the No. 2 pick in the poll, and will face Towson at home on Sept. 13.  Towson won the CAA last year, making an NCAA Tournament appearance.  The Tigers were selected No. 4 in the preseason rankings. 

13 Home Matches Highlight 2005 Schedule

UMBC hosts 13 home matches in 2005 including two tri-matches.  The Retrievers opened the season with a tri-match against Northeastern and Villanova.  After going on the road for four matches UMBC will return home to face St. Peter’s and LaSalle in another tri-match on Sept. 10.  Other highlighted dates included local rival Towson, where current head coach Ian Blanchard served as an assistant coach last year, on Sept. 13, Binghamton as the conference opener on Sept. 30, last year’s conference champion Albany on Oct. 28 and the home finale against Hartford which will include senior night ceremonies on Nov. 11.

RETRIEVER RECORD CHASING

Megan Gross Ranks Second All-Time In Assists

UMBC senior Megan Gross ranks second all-time in career assists.  Gross last year become the third Retriever to ever reach 3,000 career assists.  Her current mark is 3,152 assists.

UMBC Career Assists Chart

    Name                                 Assists

1. Lanae Baker                    4,722

2. Megan Gross                   3,152

3. Heather Hollidge             3,034

    -bold denotes active player

Christine Skala Chasing Sixth All-Time on Career Digs Chart

Christine Skala currently leads all active Retrievers in career digs with the seventh best mark all-time.  The senior libero is chasing sixth place all-time held by Lisa Cline with 1,197 digs.  Skala entering the week has 1,099 career digs.

UMBC Career Digs Chart

        Name                             Digs

1.     Tracey Cullins              1,475

2.     Lanae Baker                 1,460

3.     Kelly O’Brien                 1,444

4.     Megan McNamara       1,429

5.     Jen Jewell                     1,422

6.     Lisa Cline                     1,197

7.     Christine Skala           1,099

8.     Jocelyn Teoh                902

9.     Megan Gross               905

Folk Draws Closer To Top-10 For Total Blocks All-Time

Jessie Folk is less than 10 blocks from reaching the top-10 for total blocks all-time.  Folk entered the season with 171 total blocks and currently has 174 all-time.  Dawn Garnes and Pam Lottes hold the 10^th mark all-time with 182 total blocks.

UMBC Career Total Blocks Chart

        Name                             Total Blocks

5.     Kelly O’Brien                 251

6.     Jocelyn Teoh                226

7.     Lisa Cline                     208

8.     Loreta Saurusaitis      205

9.     Anna Gibbs                   204

10.  Pam Lottes                   182

        Dawn Garnes               182

        Jessie Folk                   174

        Megan Gross               147

        -bold denotes active player

Folk Fifth All-Time on Assisted Blocks Chart

Jessie Folk ranks fifth on UMBC’s all-time assisted blocks chart.  The junior middle blocker and opposite hitter recorded three assisted blocks in the opening weekend of play.  Folk trails Jocelyn Teoh for fourth all-time.

UMBC Career Assisted Blocks Chart

        Name                             Assisted Blocks

3.     Dana Eberly                  191

4.     Jocelyn Teoh                180

5.     Jessie Folk                   155

7.     Megan Gross               147

    -bold denotes active player

Seniors Look To Break Top-10 For Matches and Games Played All-Time

Megan Gross and Christine Skala are closing in on the top-10 for all-time games played and matches played.  Gross and Skala are less than 10 matches played from the top-10 while they need less than 75 games played to reach the top-10 in that category. 

UMBC Career Matches Played Chart

        Name                             Matches Played

9.     Kelly O’Brien                 113

10.  Ana Gibbs                     101

        Christine Skala           98

        Megan Gross               95

        -bold denotes active player

UMBC Career Games Played Chart

        Name                             Games Played

9.     Kara Welniak                411

10.  Jennifer Davis              406

        Christine Skala           347

        Megan Gross               339

        -bold denotes active player